Rick Singh.
By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
In Summary:
Rick Singh, the former Orange County Property Appraiser, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Orange County Clerk of Courts in the August 18 primary. He is campaigning to improve customer service, modernize technology, and change the organizational culture of an office that manages millions of public records. Singh says his eight years as property appraiser demonstrate his ability to lead a constitutional office through growth and technological change.
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Most residents rarely think about the Orange County Clerk of Courts until they need a marriage license, receive a jury summons, or find themselves navigating one of the most stressful moments of their lives.
For more information on Rick Singh's campaign, go here.
Rick Singh believes those encounters should feel less like confronting a bureaucracy and more like receiving a public service.
That belief sits at the center of Singh’s campaign to succeed Orange County Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell, who is not seeking reelection as she runs for Orange County mayor. Singh, a former two-term Orange County property appraiser, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the August 18 primary against Maribel Gomez Cordero and Roberta Walton Johnson.
The Democratic nominee will face no-party-affiliation candidate Terrell Thomas in the November 3 general election.
A Clerk's Office built around service
Throughout a recent interview with The Apopka Voice, Singh returned to the same idea: The Clerk’s Office should be measured not simply by how well it maintains records, but by how well it serves people.
“The clerk of court is a very underrated position if it is utilized effectively,” Singh said. “There is so much information that the clerk of court acquires by virtue of being the clerk of court.”
Since leaving office in 2021, Singh said he has remained active in the private sector as CEO of an investment company focused on affordable housing while also helping operate his family’s mental health practice. He said his interest in returning to elected office grew from what he sees as opportunities to improve customer service, technology, and organizational management within the Clerk’s Office.
“I saw the need,” Singh said. “When I took occupancy as the property appraiser, that office also entailed some of the same troubles that this office has, by way of customer service, technology, policy, and procedures. So this was a good fit for me.”
Leading like a chief executive
Unlike candidates who emphasize legal experience or years spent working inside the courthouse, Singh presents himself as an executive whose qualifications come from leading organizations.
“The clerk of court is a CEO-type position,” he said.
Singh said his background combines three perspectives: military service, private-sector leadership, and experience managing a constitutional office.
“I come to the table the total package, having the military, having private sector, and having government experience,” Singh said. “So I think I’m eminently qualified for this position.”
Before entering public office, Singh served in the U.S. Army during the 1980s, working on weapons systems for Cobra and Apache helicopters. Although an injury ended his military career early, he said the experience permanently shaped his approach to leadership.
“Working on aircraft systems demanded precision, discipline, and accountability,” Singh said. “There’s no room for error because obviously it can cost someone’s life.”
He said that philosophy later carried into his business and government careers.
“If you can’t do it right the first time, or you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all,” Singh said. “Train until you can get it done right.”
Changing culture before changing office
Singh believes government offices can become overly focused on routine, with employees “punching the clock” rather than considering the impact their work has on the public. He said an organization’s culture should be built around a simple principle: Employees must care about the people they serve.
“There are three reasons people do things,” he said. “They do things because they’re told to, they do things because they have to, and they do things because they care. What I always try to instill in my employees — and myself — is that you have to care.”
Singh said that philosophy became the foundation for changes he introduced during his eight years as property appraiser. Employees began to see how their work affected residents, he said, which helped transform the office culture.
“When they say, ‘Hey, you made a difference in my life today. You’ve changed things by helping me,’ this causes people who are living a very mundane existence to start opening their eyes and caring,” Singh said.
For Singh, customer service is closely connected to accessibility. Residents often encounter the court system during stressful periods of their lives, he said, and should not feel intimidated or overwhelmed by their government.
“I will be the people’s clerk of court,” he said. “I was the people’s property appraiser.”
That promise includes making himself available to residents and building an office where people believe the government exists to serve them — not the other way around.
In Singh’s view, leadership begins with changing an organization’s culture before changing its systems. Technology, efficiency, and new programs matter, he said, but only after employees embrace the idea that every interaction with the public offers an opportunity to solve a problem rather than merely process paperwork.
Technology forms the second pillar of Singh’s campaign. He believes the Clerk’s Office has untapped potential to make government more efficient, accessible, and understandable.
“It is one of the largest collectors of data,” Singh said. “Every segment of the community can benefit from the clerk of court’s office.”
During his time as property appraiser, Singh said he implemented geographic information systems (GIS) to organize and present public information in ways useful to homeowners, businesses, developers, real estate professionals, and researchers.
He believes the Clerk’s Office can take a similar approach by making court and public records easier to navigate while improving how residents interact with the agency. Singh also pointed to his study of artificial intelligence and GIS technology as evidence that the government should continue to evolve rather than rely on outdated processes.
Modernizing the jury experience
One example is the jury summons system.
Instead of relying primarily on paper notices sent through the mail, Singh envisions an online portal where prospective jurors could receive instructions, ask questions, and complete more of the process electronically.
“People don’t have time to take off a day from work to come into the Clerk’s Office,” Singh said. “People don’t have time for that. I value people’s time, and the government needs to work to achieve that.”
For Singh, technology is not simply about efficiency. It is also a tool for making government easier to understand.
“The clerk of court can leverage this data and benefit the community,” he said.
Looking back on his eight years as property appraiser, Singh said the accomplishments he values most are not awards or recognition, but the relationships his office built across Orange County.
His administration participated in more than 1,000 community outreach events, he said, speaking with homeowner associations, real estate professionals, attorneys and civic organizations about exemptions, assessments and the role of the Property Appraiser’s Office.
“I firmly believe that you can’t serve the people unless you know the people,” Singh said. “And to know the people, you have to go out into the community and really interact with them and get to know them. They must know you, and you must know them.”
Singh also highlighted the annual “State of Orange County Real Estate” presentations, which attracted hundreds of attendees, as well as similar events focused on Lake Nona and West Orange County. He said the programs helped residents understand market trends while encouraging dialogue between the government and the community.
Technology was another point of pride.
Singh said the Property Appraiser’s Office built its website in-house, incorporated GIS technology, and made information available in 52 languages.
“We had the most robust website in the world,” he said, recalling that officials from outside Florida and the United States contacted the office to ask who had designed it.
Singh also pointed to the growth of Orange County’s tax roll during his tenure, from approximately $110 billion to $220 billion. For Singh, those figures represented more than rising property values.
“That was efficiency,” he said. “That was equity, ensuring fairness and equity, ensuring that everybody paid their fair share.”
Orange County’s continued growth is one reason the Clerk’s Office cannot afford to stand still, Singh said.
“The clerk needs to grow with it,” he said.
Singh cited the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of the importance of preparation. While many government offices struggled to transition employees to remote work, he said the Property Appraiser’s Office was operating remotely within a day and a half because its systems and plans were already in place.
“We prepared for it, we had a system in place, and we were serving taxpayers without hindrance,” Singh said.
Asked what his first 100 days as clerk would look like, Singh described a methodical assessment of the agency rather than an immediate series of sweeping changes.
Four years into a potential administration, Singh said he would want residents to see an office that is easier to navigate, quicker to respond, and more transparent.
“The Clerk’s Office would look like an office that is accessible to the public, that has world-class customer service, that has memorable customer service, that has technology that is cutting-edge and always advancing,” he said.
His message to voters
As the campaign enters its final weeks before the Democratic primary, Singh said he has been encouraged by voters who remember his tenure as property appraiser.
“Many people are still thanking me for doing the job that I did as property appraiser,” he said. “So I’m hoping that transcends into votes.”
Singh said he has spent the campaign meeting with residents throughout Orange County, listening to their concerns and reminding them of his record. More than any single program, however, he wants voters to remember the philosophy he said has guided his public and private careers: Government exists to serve people.
For most residents, the Clerk of Courts will never be an office they think about every day. But Singh says that when the day comes that they do need it, the quality of its service may matter more than they ever imagined.
Key Points:
- Rick Singh faces Maribel Gomez Cordero and Roberta Walton Johnson in the August 18 Democratic primary.
- The Democratic nominee will face no-party-affiliation candidate Terrell Thomas in the November 3 general election.
- Singh describes the clerk of courts as a “CEO-type position” requiring executive and organizational leadership.
- His priorities include customer service, public accessibility, technology modernization, and community outreach.
- Singh previously served two terms as Orange County property appraiser and also has military and private-sector experience.
